# 119-hr-9805: Children’s Safe Welcome Act of 2026 119-hr-9805, Children’s Safe Welcome Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Kamlager-Dove, Sydney [D-CA-37] (D-CA); status in_committee; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-08-13). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9805 - As of: 2026-08-13 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: 119-hr-9805 - Congress: 119 - Title: Children’s Safe Welcome Act of 2026 - Status: in_committee - Introduced: 2026-07-21 - Sponsor: Rep. Kamlager-Dove, Sydney [D-CA-37] (D-CA) - Cosponsors: 2 - Policy area: Immigration - Touches household money: yes - Last recorded action: 2026-08-13 ## Summary **Prioritizes the best interests of the child** by setting strict care, placement, and reunification rules for noncitizen children while expanding oversight, legal help, and data transparency. - Families and children: Bars routine family separation and limits Customs and Border Protection processing custody of children to no more than 72 hours. Federal specialists must make expedited release determinations within 72 hours and, for most cases, finalize release decisions within 48 hours of a recommendation. - Facilities and care: Requires State licensing, trauma‑informed staffing, and limits on large congregate care. The bill phases out placements in facilities with more than 25 children over two years and sets a case‑manager target ratio of 8:1. - Oversight, counsel, and courts: Creates an independent Ombudsperson with at least seven regional offices, guarantees government‑funded legal representation and child advocates, and expands immigration-court capacity by adding about 75 immigration judges and related staff. *Adds targeted funding such as a $46.5 million contingency fund and authorizes additional court and care staffing, increasing federal spending.* ## Cosponsors (2) - Rep. Johnson, Henry C. "Hank" [D-GA-4] (D-GA), 2026-07-21T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Quigley, Mike [D-IL-5] (D-IL), 2026-07-21T00:00:00.000Z ## Provisions PRIA read - Fewer congregate placements; kinder foster care: benefit, medium. If enacted, ORR would phase out placements in large congregate care that house more than 25 people. Two years after enactment ORR could not place children in those facilities and would follow benchmarks: 25% compliance at one year, 75% by 545 days, and 100% by two years. The bill would require stro… - More ORR case managers and funding: benefit, medium. If enacted, the government would give HHS a $46.5 million contingency fund for placing and releasing unaccompanied children. ORR would keep one case manager for every 8 children by default and must hire more Federal field specialists so most release decisions can be made within 48 hours. The Direct… - Move some asylum cases to USCIS: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would shift asylum applications to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for people who were once classified as unaccompanied children, people who were children apprehended with a parent or guardian, and their parents or guardians. The bill also clarifies that 'asylum offic… - Higher care and health standards for children: benefit, medium. If enacted, licensed ORR facilities and CBP holding areas would have higher health, hygiene, and care rules. Children would get a full medical exam within 2 business days (and a screening at CBP within 6 hours where feasible), regular dental and mental-health care (two individual and one group coun… - Sponsor rules and post-release help: benefit, medium. If enacted, ORR would have to decide family‑reunification applications within 7 days and could not deny sponsorship only because of poverty, public assistance, unemployment, or lack of insurance. Fingerprint checks would be used only if public records show safety concerns. ORR would offer voluntary… - More immigration judges and staff: benefit, medium. If enacted, EOIR would add at least 75 immigration judges, 75 judicial law clerks, and 300 support staff in fiscal year 2027. New judges must have strong immigration experience and training. The bill bars using appropriated EOIR funds to implement numeric caseload performance standards and directs… - More federal custody data and reports: benefit, low. If enacted, ORR would build and maintain a national data system for children in custody and review it at least every three years. Facilities would report individual and facility data at least weekly. DHS would collect detailed individual custody data and publish monthly facility-level aggregates an… - More counsel, advocates, and oversight: mixed, medium. If enacted, each unaccompanied child in HHS custody would get government-funded counsel through all immigration stages unless already represented. Children would get a free legal orientation within 10 days. The bill would fund independent child advocates with quick access to case files and create a… ## Related bills - 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act - 119-hr-7481: Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026 - 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act - 119-hr-3069: Medicare for All Act - 119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026 - 119-hres-1058: Recognizing that it is the duty of the Federal Government to develop and implement a Transgender Bill of Rights to protect and codify the rights of transgender… ## Sources - [119-hr-9805 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/9805) ## Related - [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977) - [119-hr-7481: Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7481) - [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973) - [119-hr-3069: Medicare for All Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3069) - [119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7853) - [119-hres-1058: Recognizing that it is the duty of the Federal Government to develop and implem…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hres-1058) - [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9805 (as of 2026-08-13).